openedx / openedx/openedx-authz

Implement a scalable policy loading strategy

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performance
Dominant language
Python
Stars
0
Forks
9
Avg merge
13d 9h
Merged PRs (30d)
9

Description

Description

The framework currently loads the full policy set into memory. While this worked for Ulmo’s MVP and passed load tests up to ~100 concurrent users, this approach may not scale as policies and scope types increase. Earlier work explored loading only relevant subsets of policies, but this was not finalized: https://github.com/openedx/openedx-authz/pull/86

This issue tracks:

  • Reviewing how policies are currently loaded into memory.
  • Identifying the points in the system that depend on full-policy loading.
  • Implementing a long-term strategy that avoids loading unnecessary policies while keeping enforcement correct.
  • Ensuring the new strategy supports additional scopes beyond the MVP.

Acceptance Criteria

  • There is a clear description of the current loading flow and its constraints.
  • There is a documented list of components affected by changing the loading strategy.
  • A first iteration of an implementation that avoids loading the entire policy set when not required.
  • Follow-up tasks if further refinements are needed.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reviewing the current policy-loading flow and the earlier exploration in pull request #86. Map the components that depend on full-policy loading, then define and implement a first strategy that avoids unnecessary policy loading while preserving enforcement and supporting additional scopes; document constraints, affected components, and follow-up work.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
authorization, performance
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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